NextEra Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 35,758 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 49% compared to the average volume of 23,982 call options.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $70.14 on Friday. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $47.15 and a 52-week high of $78.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.6% in the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Greenfield Savings Bank increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 32,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 6,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.